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I am growing microgreens and wheatgrass and sometimes run into trouble with mold. I have read that mold can be controlled by using LED lights but I cannot seem to find anything more specific.

I assuming that the mold control comes from the UV.

Now my question(s) What band of UV is controlling the Mold ?

Not all, in fact most household LED's will not be producing UV at all. I assume they must be referring to the grow specific LED's in the arket.

Do my ArgoLED's provide the required UV Spectrum ?

I also recently purchased the relatively new Hydrolux PowerVEG FS + UV bulbs. I wonder if I am getting the right UV from them.

It seems hard to locate good information on the spectral profile of my AgroLED T5 "Full Spectrum" lights.

user16528
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Someone can answer the specific questions but normally led grow lights have no or minimal UV emission unless specifically added. The manufacturer of the second light says the UV is there to enhance growth, and reduce the shock of transplanting from a non UV environment to growing outside though most people would just harden seedlings for the same purpose.

It looks like you want to control fungal growth at the surface when growing your microgreens. Although UV can be used as a biocide, you can get mold outside under high UV if the conditions permit. I see powdery mildew on some of my plants in the same section of the garden but don't see it a few metres away due to the change in microclimate even though they both receive the same UV levels, which will be much higher than from your grow light.

Surface fungi are more likely to grow when the surface conditions are moist. It's recommended that to reduce mold when growing microgreens you reduce the density of the plants, and increase the ventilation both of which will dry the surface of the grow medium. You can also water from the bottom using capillary action to draw the water up so that the roots get access before unnecessary water reaches the surface.

Graham Chiu
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Do you have major fans blowing the air? You can have the best lights but without air movement you will get mold and fungus. Send pictures please of your set up, types of plants, what you have added for fertilizer, type of soil, drainage, how close are your lamps...any little detail will help! Right now go get a fan to move that air and humidity!

stormy
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  • Yes I have fans on all three shelves. Each shelf has two 10 x 20 trays. Wheatgrass and Peas are using a mix of coco coir and a little worm castings with azimuth. I think it's a moisture problem. – user16528 Jan 18 '17 at 01:10
  • If you've got good ventilation then sure, too much moisture. Are you using garden soil mixed with coco and worm castings? That would make even more sense. When you grow any plant confined to raised beds with sides or pots you HAVE to use sterilized potting soil. The garden soil will be full of botrytis and other fungal spores, virus, bacteria that are fine in the larger body of garden soil but not in pots or artificially confined medium. Let us know what soil you've used, fertilizers, any types of mulch added...how much do you water? – stormy Jan 18 '17 at 07:51
  • T5's should be fine if they are close enough to the plants. Do not expect lights to have any control over molds and fungi. Are your shelves one over the other or are they like stadium seating and tiered? Your plants should be MOVING when your fans are on. If not you've got to power up your fans. Get better fans. I think it is your soil and drainage. – stormy Jan 18 '17 at 07:56
  • So for the batch having problems I used some old coco and EWC mixed in. Does that mean the EWC's are generally no good for soil based applications indoors then? – user16528 Jan 19 '17 at 17:55
  • http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/index.php/item/light-warrior-agro-ponic-grow-medium.html – user16528 Jan 19 '17 at 18:04
  • Indoor plants need sterilized potting soil. There has to be great drainage by holes in the bottom of pots, pot lifted off surface, no gravel, no other amendments are needed. I like adding organic matter, decomposed to the top of my potting soil to feed the soil residents who eventually eat all the organics in the pot and the soil becomes compacted, life in dormancy. Don't mix it in the organisms do that for you. The EWC's would be fine to sprinkle on top of the potting soil from time to time. But no garden soil indoors. What is different with the batch having problems? – stormy Jan 19 '17 at 19:50